We saw this mushroom at one of the state parks along the North Shore and it made me realize how underrated mushrooms are for having any sort of beauty potential. I wanted to know what kind it was, so of course I did a search on the internet for: “orange ball mushroom with white spots.” This would make a scientist cringe, but the internet isn’t that picky and gave me what I wanted without so much as an arrogant sneer. If I’m correct, it’s an American Eastern Yellow Fly Agaric mushroom. The cap flattens out as it gets older, so I think this one is a baby, which heightens its appeal. Anything in the baby category automatically blows the fuse of the cute circuit. Just look what happened when they took crusty old Yoda and made him into a baby? I rest my case.
I read some scholarly articles about this mushroom, or perhaps I should say that I skimmed them judiciously…or even more to the point, I skipped most of the boring stuff. Here’s all you need to know:
- It’s not poisonous to eat if you know how to prepare it (seems like a big “if”).
- Something about this mushroom when mixed with milk, kills flies. Maybe.
- Some species of this mushroom may have hallucinogenic properties.
If you see this mushroom in the wild, don’t eat it hoping for an unusual tripping experience based on what I just told you. By the way, guess what pops up when I type the word mushroom? This: 🍄 Yes, this is such an iconic mushroom that even the computer knows what it is.
And just to balance out the life cycle of our charming friend, I took a photo of another one that I think must be in the grandfather age category.
Or, if you want to stick to the Star Wars theme, if the other mushroom was Baby Yoda, this one is Jabba the Hut.
I think I’ve fed you enough pseudo-science for today. You can always look these things up if you want accuracy and thoroughness. I offer only fanciful speculations and disclaimers.
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I’ll probably delete this in the morning after consulting with my lawyer about whether or not I’m going to be held responsible for actions taken by people with mushrooms after reading this post.
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